The present invention is directed to a system and method for dispensing a pre-mix carbonated beverage in the microgravity conditions of outer space.
It is known that under zero or microgravity conditions of outer space, that beverage's cannot be dispensed from a conventional post-mix beverage dispenser into an ordinary vessel or package, and that beverage cannot be poured from a vessel directly into a consumer's mouth. They must be forced out of a supply container into smaller vessels and packages, under pressure, as well as being similarly forced directly into the mouth of the consumer or astronaut. For still beverages and water, the container filling method can be one of suction. Likewise, the astronaut can suck the liquid from a collapsible container through a straw.
Furthermore, the container utilized for dispensing a beverage must be of a collapsible volume type in order to preclude the creation of an air space or pocket within the container, the location of which cannot be controlled due to the substantially zero gravity conditions of outer space.
The method and system for filling packages of carbonated beverage pre-mix described in application Ser. No. 769,464 filed on Aug. 26, 1985 and issued on May 1, 1988 was developed for filling pre-mix or post-mix packages in outer space which may be easily operated and performed by an astronaut while in outer space.
The system and method described in that parent application Ser. No. 769,464 filed on Aug. 26, 1985 can be performed and utilized on Earth before the system is launched into outer space. However, the system thereof was designed to fill a need wherein empty packages could be refilled with pre-mix or carbonated water from a master supply tank in outer space which was easily operable by the crew of astronauts. Although the above described system was an advance in the art, it would be desirable to provide an even more sophisticated beverage dispenser for use in the microgravity conditions of outer space.